Employee
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59 Messages
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2.5K Points
Updates to Title Reference View
Please note: this message is about the Title Reference View, an advanced, opt-in setting, which is only used by a subset of select users. If you don’t use this view, this announcement can be disregarded.
Today (December 19th 2017) we are announcing the release of an updated Title Reference View. The new Title Reference View merges the previous “combined” and “reference” experiences into a single data-centric view containing full cast and crew credits. While we realize there are some changes between the new and old versions, this new page still provides a condensed, data-centric representation of the title and is based on past surveys and contributor feedback. As part of a larger initiative to modernize our software (https://getsatisfaction.com/imdb/topics/upcoming-changes-to-several-imdb-features), this page needed to be rebuilt. The older page, while valuable, had major issues impacting its maintainability and overall speed. The new page is now on modern, scalable software which can be improved and expanded over time. For example, the new page is significantly faster, in both page load time and the data itself. Title data is now rapidly published, allowing users the ability to find and update title information as soon as it is available (the old page was typically 2-3 days behind).
While the new page is not exactly the same as the old, we still believe the new page properly represents the data itself. If you notice an issue, please let us know. We will be monitoring this thread to ensure the transition is as smooth as possible.
Here are some frequently asked questions:
What does the new page look like?
Here is screenshot. To toggle between the standard title display and the reference page, please update your user preferences as detailed below.
How do I see the new Title Reference View?
On “Site Settings\Update general site preference”, at https://www.imdb.com/preferences/general selecting this option will redirect you to the new page:
What happened to the Name Reference View?
As part of the larger project to modernize our software, we have decided to deprecate the Name Reference View. While the differences between the primary title display and the title reference view are significant, the differences between the name displays were less extreme.
Why didn’t you include User Review detail on the new page?
We are actively working to add this information. Check back soon.
Thanks
Nic
Today (December 19th 2017) we are announcing the release of an updated Title Reference View. The new Title Reference View merges the previous “combined” and “reference” experiences into a single data-centric view containing full cast and crew credits. While we realize there are some changes between the new and old versions, this new page still provides a condensed, data-centric representation of the title and is based on past surveys and contributor feedback. As part of a larger initiative to modernize our software (https://getsatisfaction.com/imdb/topics/upcoming-changes-to-several-imdb-features), this page needed to be rebuilt. The older page, while valuable, had major issues impacting its maintainability and overall speed. The new page is now on modern, scalable software which can be improved and expanded over time. For example, the new page is significantly faster, in both page load time and the data itself. Title data is now rapidly published, allowing users the ability to find and update title information as soon as it is available (the old page was typically 2-3 days behind).
While the new page is not exactly the same as the old, we still believe the new page properly represents the data itself. If you notice an issue, please let us know. We will be monitoring this thread to ensure the transition is as smooth as possible.
Here are some frequently asked questions:
What does the new page look like?
Here is screenshot. To toggle between the standard title display and the reference page, please update your user preferences as detailed below.
How do I see the new Title Reference View?
On “Site Settings\Update general site preference”, at https://www.imdb.com/preferences/general selecting this option will redirect you to the new page:
What happened to the Name Reference View?
As part of the larger project to modernize our software, we have decided to deprecate the Name Reference View. While the differences between the primary title display and the title reference view are significant, the differences between the name displays were less extreme.
Why didn’t you include User Review detail on the new page?
We are actively working to add this information. Check back soon.
Thanks
Nic
Official Response
Col_Needham
Employee
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7.3K Messages
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179.2K Points
7 years ago
Thanks for the feedback so far, please keep it coming as we tune the new contributor focused title reference view.
Please note for customers who are not contributors, we strongly recommend the standard IMDb title display. The reference view will always be focused on core data and will be missing non-data features. You can opt out of reference view at any time via https://www.imdb.com/preferences/general or via the "Change View" link near the top of the reference view title pages.
We have a fix in progress for the bug preventing the display of the (uncredited) attribute on cast lists. [FIXED]
We are adding support for additions / deletions to your watchlist. [FIXED]
The poster will be linked to the photo viewer and will open the poster, as in the standard view [FIXED]
The box office information from the standard title view will be added soon. [FIXED]
The year of the title (at the top of the page) will be linked to an advanced search of other titles from that year, as in the standard view. [FIXED]
Add year ranges for TV series [FIXED]
Swap order of writers credits and attributes to match the rest of the page [FIXED]
Faulty display logic for some localized titles [FIXED]
Trivia & goofs not shown as active links in the navigation when all items are spoilers.
Some attributes, including (archive footage) & (credit only) display incorrectly.
Company credits are missing attributes.
Mini-series credits not displayed properly [FIXED]
Redirect loop when accessing reference view pages on mobile devices [FIXED]
[also remember from Nic's post above, user reviews will also be added]
We have already simplified the options on the preferences page at https://www.imdb.com/preferences/general
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Vincent_Fournols
2.4K Messages
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81.2K Points
7 years ago
2
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tom_patten_4lixjlowaff7i
2 Messages
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814 Points
7 years ago
5
calle_lindstr_m
2 Messages
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392 Points
7 years ago
I've been using IMDb since 1999 and have been a Top 100 contributor in the past. it seems all the "improvements" are just making everything worse. I remember when you could sort a persons movies by user ratings and number of votes. You'd get one list of the Acting credits, one of Directing credits, etc. Another great feature that was replaced with a new one where all the movies are lumped together no matter if they're Acting, Directing or just "Thank you"s. IMDb is turning into a mess.
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crusader_of_melnibone
7 Messages
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278 Points
7 years ago
So what's the point of discarding the old reference/combined views if the new one does not display all the data? I still have to log out or switch views if I want to have the full data from both the default view and the reference view. Frustrating.
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cartman_1337
248 Messages
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17.6K Points
7 years ago
Please move the menu back to the left side, make it as wide as the poster image, and keep the poster image and menu in its own column as before, and have all the other sections to the right of it, as before, and I'm sure most would be pleased. Currently, as you go down a title screen, the data seems very condensed, and there is a huge area of open space to the right that should have been used for data.
Also, now that you have made the reference view in the new software, there's no excuse for not including the budget and box office information in the new view.
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cartman_1337
248 Messages
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17.6K Points
7 years ago
0
Elwood_Blues
82 Messages
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3K Points
7 years ago
One suggestion for improvement: right now I have set the title display country to Original. At the top of the page, it site shows the US rating but the German release date (for Star Wars: TLJ, although a German rating is listed). It would be useful if rating and release date are from the same country.
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Marco
2.7K Messages
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83K Points
7 years ago
Just two things though:
-Can you put the (attributes) back in the cast listings? They're currently only visible in the update forms.
-Can you make the name pages as clean and lean as the title pages please? Currently, one gets rather distracted when visiting them because the whole right part, the "Known for'" section and the pics at the bottom crave attention for other stuff.
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Katana
5 Messages
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224 Points
7 years ago
Most notable omission: why no 'Add to watchlist'? But oh boy, there is more;
The truly great thing that kept me using the reference view for all these years (am a casual user, don't use IMDb for work) was that
1: I avoided the vomit explosion that is the default view. Whenever I go to IMDb on a not-logged-in browser, my immediate reaction is "Ugh!".
2: I could get a more effective overview of the details I wanted to know, while avoiding the cacophony of too much and too little that is the default view.
Suggestion for IMDb:
Surely it must be possible (and desired by others than me, it seems?) to have an intermediate view. That is, with the current layout (and all the under-the-hood changes that necessitated this in the first place), but with a "compressed" listing,
I.e. only above-the-line cast and crew, like the old reference view had and current default view has, with a "See full cast" link. And "See all crew" or "See all producers/visual effects/etc." (depending on granularity) respectively.
For some titles this might not be necessary, but have a look at Game of Thrones - or any other TV-show with many individual cast/crew. That is an impossibly long page! Yes, it's easy to search for something, with it all on one page (which can be done smartly in other ways), but it doesn't make logical sense to scroll that page and read it all.
I wonder how much of an overlap there is with IMDbPro. Wouldn't a professional user request something nicer and more useful than the above example in the first place?
I fear that reference view is dead and has simply become too annoying to use going forward :'-(
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jeebus_5436879
2 Messages
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90 Points
7 years ago
When trying to go to a title page (combined) in Opera Mobile, it times out with the error message "m.imdb.com redirected you too many times". I have the newest version for Android, Android version 4.4.2. (Oh, I long for the times when web pages were simple and easy to manouver and ctrl+F could get you whatever you wanted.)
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ron3
386 Messages
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9.4K Points
7 years ago
0
annette_5872628
6 Messages
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632 Points
7 years ago
0
cyber_turnip
20 Messages
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1K Points
7 years ago
I'm not a huge fan of this new reference view, but it's an improvement over the alternative modern view.
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eric_chatterjee
2 Messages
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242 Points
7 years ago
1